Canada women's soccer players insist they had 'NOTHING' to do with alleged drone spying scheme at 2024 Paris Olympics

Canada's women's shot players person insisted that they had 'nothing' to do pinch nan team's drone spying strategy astatine nan Olympics.

The scandal, which has seen 3 staffers - including caput coach Bev Priestman - sent location from nan Olympics, besides resulted successful nan reigning golden medalists being docked six points up of their 2nd crippled vs. France.

Canada, though, dramatically scored successful second-half stoppage clip to hit nan hosts and support their hopes alive, and firmly rejected nan conception afterwards that they're cheaters.

'It's been 72 hours wherever we person nary power complete anything,' Vanessa Gilles, who scored nan winning goal, said via ESPN.

'We're not portion of immoderate of this, and we're getting sanctioned arsenic if we conscionable sewage caught doping. We did nothing. We're conscionable truthful tired of defending ourselves complete thing we person nary power over.

'We sewage nary advantage,' Giles continued. 'We spell retired there, we play our hearts out, we activity for this each twelvemonth round, time successful and time out. So it's conscionable nan uncontrollables that are nan biggest anger and biggest frustration.'

It was revealed anterior to Canada's opening lucifer successful nan Olympics vs. New Zealand that nan squad had utilized drones to spy connected their opponents, with assistant coach Jasmine Mander, 'unaccredited' expert Joseph Lombardi and caput coach Priestman each yet being sent home.

The trio was besides each suspended a twelvemonth by FIFA from immoderate football-related activities.

Beyond these Olympics, questions person arose astir Canada's golden badge successful Tokyo, with TSN reporting that Canada's men's and women's teams person tried to movie their opponents' training sessions 'for years' - including successful 2021 successful Tokyo.

Priestman, who apologized to her players connected Sunday, was adamant nevertheless that spying played nary domiciled successful nan team's Tokyo triumph.

Giles added connected Sunday that she had 'never felt truthful galore emotions going into a game,' pinch her teammate Kailen Sheridan adding that 'there's truthful overmuch negativity directed toward us.'

'We consciousness for illustration we person thing to do pinch what each these things that are gone on,' Sheridan said. 'We're nether onslaught correct now. We're nan dart board. We unluckily had to return that. For america to return that. In bid for america to travel together and really unopen nan world retired was a really difficult decision.'

The players' denial of engagement successful nan drone spying has been echoed by Canada shot CEO Kevin Blue, who said In a property convention connected Friday that nan players astatine nan Paris Olympics had not seen immoderate drone footage from Lombardi.

A man matching Lombardi's explanation was arrested past week by French authorities aft it was discovered a drone was flying complete New Zealand's practice.

Nonetheless, Canada now person a chance to beforehand contempt their points conclusion aft beating some New Zealand and France.

They'll look Colombia connected Wednesday pinch a chance to move on.